Winston Rysdahl is the Student Trustee, the liaison between NEIU students and the Board of Trustees (BoT), a group of community leaders, businessmen, civil rights proponents and educators appointed by the Illinois Governor. The BoT is the fiduciary body tasked with ensuring the success of NEIU and its fiscal solvency. Because the BoT has the final say on financial elements, policy matters and maintaining a competitive educational environment for students, to remain in touch with the student body the position of Student Trustee was created. Rysdahl takes his position as spokesperson for the NEIU student body seriously and because he feels he is “never not representing the Board of Trustees in public,” Rysdahl always wears dress shirts and suits on campus. You may have seen this sharply-dressed young man bustling around the halls of NEIU.
Rysdahl was originally drawn into NEIU politics by attending meetings of the Student Government Association (SGA) and BoT. By watching the SGA and BoT in action, the inner workings of NEIU became more clearly defined to him and he was inspired to become a part of the leadership process rather than just a recipient of the results. Rysdahl became an SGA senator last spring and then was elected to the position of Student Trustee this year by the student body.
When not in class, he enjoys gardening, gaming, fencing and origami. A Chicago native from Logan Square, 24-year-old Rysdahl grew up wary in the wake of the frequent political machinations in Illinois. As a senior, Secondary Education English student at NEIU, Rysdahl is determined to enter and improve the Chicago education system as a teacher. He has a firm belief that the fight for better education in Chicago classrooms cannot be won by teachers, parents or students alone but rather as a combination of all three groups working together and strong policy supporting them. After teaching, Rysdahl plans to enter law school and eventually run for public office, taking his experience and understanding of the integral inner workings of the Chicago Public School system with him to fuel his fight for better education.
As the Student Trustee on the BoT, Rysdahl hopes to represent the student body’s needs and interests accurately and offer objective input on the proposals brought to the table by the BoT. One of his main goals for the future is to alleviate the problems caused by interdepartmental miscommunication or from the lack of communication between administration and the student body. Rysdahl believes that the student governing bodies of NEIU are incredibly strong for a college this size. He feels the school works as well as it does because the very existence of SGA and the Student Trustee position are proof that the administration understands there is always room for improvement. They are willing to listen to the student body and enact changes for the overall improvement of our educational experience.